How Diversity Differs from Inclusion

Employers who have diverse workforces may not necessarily have inclusive ones. In today’s workplace, diversity and inclusion go hand in hand. Employers need to know the difference between diversity and inclusion in order to achieve these goals in the workplace.

To help explore these issues, College Recruiter is hosting a College Recruiting Bootcamp on LGBT and other diversity hiring issues on Tuesday, September 29th at the Twilio headquarters in San Francisco. Join us.

Prior to that event, we’ll publish the opinions from a number of talent acquisition and recruiting leaders about why and how employers should diversify their workforces. In today’s article, Melissa Lamson of Lamson Consulting discusses how diversity is different from inclusion.

Melissa Lamson, CEO of Lamson Consulting

“Diversity is the variety or ways in which individuals are different (and the same) from each other in terms of several dimensions–culture, age, gender, sexuality, and disability. Those dimensions are how companies are defining diversity. Other dimensions can include personality types, work styles, and even potentially zodiac signs.”

“Unlike diversity, inclusion is not just as it exists. It is an act of creating integration—a space where people feel like they belong regardless of their differences. It is more a strategy—an action to build trust and an environment of safety and tolerance. It teaches people how to leverage differences to the benefit of their organizations, teams, and relationships.”

About Melissa Lamson

Melissa Lamson, CEO of Lamson Consulting, is one of the world’s foremost intercultural trainers and consultants. Her experience spans two decades and she’s worked on projects in more than forty countries. This has afforded her invaluable expertise in helping organizations expand globally, improve time-to-market, and increase profits. She has offered hundreds of companies the tools and insights to build successful leaders and effective teams in every corner of the world. Past clients include LinkedIn, Ikea, MTV, Porsche, and SAP.